SXSW: Springsteen takes over Austin

The New Jersey rocker loomed large over this year’s music conference and festival in Austin, Texas. That’s no small achievement – given that SXSW is such a mammoth production, featuring literally thousands of performances. But that’s why they call Bruce “the Boss.”

Having made a heavily predicted “surprise” appearance at the Austin Music Awards on Wednesday night, Springsteen started off Thursday by delivering arguably the most highly anticipated keynote speech in SXSW’s impressive history. It turned out to be an insightful address, which kicked off roughly 30 minutes late and in rather hilarious fashion.

“Why are we up so (expletive) early?” Springsteen said. “How important can this speech be if we’re giving it at noon? Every decent musician in Austin is asleep right now – or will be by the time I’m through with this.”

Roughly nine hours later, Springsteen would join his legendary E Street Band to perform a rare small-venue gig at the gorgeous Moody Theater, which is the new home for the PBS TV series “Austin City Limits.” This was, without a doubt, the prize ticket of the 2012 SXSW.

The Moody is roughly the same size as the Warfield in San Francisco, but it feels even more intimate. It’s a tall, multi-level structure, where fans, even those in the back rows, are unbelievably close to the action. The experience is more like watching an artist perform at a club – say, Yoshi’s San Francisco – then seeing an act at a big theater or, of course, an arena. Sure, it will be great to see Springsteen when performs April 24 at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, but the chance to see him at the Moody felt very much like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Both Springsteen’s keynote speech and the concert really centered on the same topic: the magic of music.

In the afternoon, he talked about his formative years, discovering Elvis Presley (“Elvis was the first modern 20th century man”), the Beatles (“It was like your future starring you in the face”), the Animals (“They were a revelation”), James Brown (“Underrated, still today”) and other artists.

In the evening, he showed what he’d learned from these influences as he delivered a fan-friendly run through both old favorites and tracks from his epic new album, “Wrecking Ball.” The music was passionate and muscular, performed by a 17-member troupe that included a five-piece horn section.

Springsteen was accompanied by several guests during the nearly three-hour show. Highlights included Tom Morello’s incendiary guitar solo on “The Ghost of Tom Joad” and an encore segment that brought Jimmy Cliff to the stage to handle such reggae classics as “Many Rivers to Cross.” Eric Burdon, whose ears must have been burning from all the attention Springsteen gave his old band, the Animals, during his keynote speech, also showed up and performed “We Gotta Get Out of This Place.”

The all-star finale brought Alejandro Escovedo, Joe Ely, Morello, Arcade Fire (yes, really, Arcade Fire!) and others out for a take on Woody Guthrie’s anthem “This Land is Your Land.” At one point during the song, Arcade Fire’s Win Butler unexpectedly jumped down from the stage and watched the performance from the crowd.

You can’t blame Butler for that – this was, after all, one show nobody would want to miss.